In 2021, Brazilian flip-flop brand Havaianas, expanded its offline footprint in Asia Pacific with the opening of 102 points of sale (33 permanent locations and 69 pop-ups). The brand recently opened its 50th store in Indonesia, a strategic market for Havaianas. Meanwhile its online business, with 11 new e-commerce sites, witnessed colossal growth of 111 percent year-on-year, representing 18 percent of total APAC sales in 2021.
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In 2022, Havaianas will continue its expansion in the region. Havaianas’ major focus will be on building an aspirational, joyful and colorful brand, developing online sales as well as expanding its retail footprint in Southeast Asia with permanent locations and with pop-up stores in trend-oriented locations in China and North Asia, mostly operated by exclusive distributors and partners.
“In Asia Pacific today, our biggest markets are Australia and Philippines while our biggest potential markets are China, Indonesia and Thailand. We now plan to reach more local consumers and deliver a change in the way they perceive and wear flip-flops. Havaianas wants to enchant Asian consumers and build strong emotional connection and affective memory, occupying a unique space where attributes like functionality, style and accessibility meet. Havaianas’ strong product portfolio with more than 150 styles and 450 colors – offers the possibility of feeling in tune with the latest fashion trends without ever having to give up comfort,” said Robert Esser – Havaianas APAC President.
“Havaianas APAC is also continuing its digital acceleration process, especially during COVID-19 when stores were closed in most of the APAC countries, Havaianas has invested disproportionally behind digital media to maximize FINDABILITY and VISIBILITY – set up stronger social commerce platforms and build a relevant influencer strategy with local brand ambassadors, like Luna Maya in Indonesia or Scha Alyahya in Malaysia,” said Robert Esser.
Alpargatas, Havaianas mother company, is committed to ensure the success story of international markets in the long run and since 2018 has set up its APAC office in Hong Kong, opened more than 100 stores across Asia, including flagship stores in Philippines, Indonesia and Australia and partnered with a leading e-commerce one-stop service provider to open its official stores on Tmall and JD to drive online business in China.
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Born in 1962, Havaianas is synonymous with the sandals category in many markets including Europe, Australia and The Philippines. Inspired by the traditional Japanese ‘Zori’ sandals and made by a unique rubber blend, Havaianas is producing 10 pairs per second.